Wnited States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
September 8, 2014
‘The Honorable Tom Wheeler
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12" Street, SW
‘Washington, DC 20536
Dear Chairman Wheeler:
Thank you for meeting with us in July. We thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to discuss
communications issues facing Montana. We look forward to continuing our dialogue on issues
such as rural call blocking, E-rate modernization and high cost loop support. While each of
those issues remains important, we write today to share our thoughts on Phase II of the Connect
America Fund (CAF I]).
‘The importance of reliable access to broadband Internet for rural communities continues to
grow. With robust broadband service, the smallest town can compete and connect with the rest
of the world. The Internet is a critical tool to build businesses, apply for jobs, enhance
educational opportunities and connect friends and families. CAF I is an outstanding opportunity
to continue to improve access to high-speed broadband for Montanans living in unserved areas,
especially since it incentivizes broadband deployment at speeds of 10 Mbps, more than double
speeds of previous rounds.
It is essential that the final details of the program live up to its promise. While more than
doubling the speed requirements for CAF Il is welcome news, we are concerned that the
program’s overall mission could be endangered if the final rules do not ensure that eligible
census blocks are correctly identified, partially unserved census blocks can receive funding and
an appropriate amount of time and support are granted to make sure carriers can construct high-
capacity networks.
As CAF I procedures are finalized, we urge the Commission to meticulously survey census
blocks to make sure that all eligible unserved areas qualify for funding. Additionally, CAF II
eligibility must be updated to account for partially-served census blocks as too many households
missed out on CAF 1.2 funding due to the insufficient challenge process. Finally, the
Commission should continue to be open to feedback about how best to balance the need to
quickly develop broadband capacity in unserved areas with the funding and time required to
complete build outsWe look forward to continuing to work with you and the Commission on efforts to deploy
broadband to the most rural areas of our nation. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Seba aJhA
John Walsh
inited States Senator United States Senator